In a stunning victory for American taxpayers, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the leadership of Elon Musk, announced the cancellation of a shocking $577 million worth of grants dedicated to what the administration described as America’s last projects abroad. This ended a continued effort from the left to save programs, such as $10 million to promote gender equity in the Mexican workplace.
For context, the cancellations directly target wasteful government spending, prioritizing foreign interests over American needs, ultimately saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars that can now be reinvested back home. The canceled grants included eye-popping programs, such as $12.2 million for worker empowerment in South America and $6.25 million to improve worker rights in agriculture in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Equally infuriatingly, the canceled grants included yet more examples of wasteful federal spending that highlight the depth of federal spending priorities that conservatives have long criticized as disconnected from American interests, such as $3 million for safe and inclusive work environments in Lesotho, $4.3 million for assisting migrant workers in Malaysia and a jaw-dropping $5 million dedicated to elevating women’s participation in workplaces across West Africa.
DOGE praised the Department of Labor for stepping up and cutting these controversial expenditures. Taking to social media to announce their achievement, “Another win for taxpayers. The Department of Labor axed $577M in wasteful grants—including absurd projects like ‘Gender Equity in the Mexican Workplace.’ Why were U.S. tax dollars ever funding foreign gender initiatives while American workers struggle? This is exactly why we need ruthless accountability.”
Continuing, the post praised the work of saving taxpayers money and making meaningful steps toward ending decades of unchecked spending overseas. Doing so, DOGE said, “Every dollar saved from bureaucratic pet projects is a dollar that stays in American pockets. The real question [is], who approved this nonsense in the first place? Time to audit every agency still funneling cash overseas.”
As DOGE continues to eliminate government waste, Conservatives applauded these recent moves to destroy it, particularly as they move the government toward fiscal sanity and America First governance. One X user, for example, said, “Thank you DOGE !! for having the U.S. Department of Labor cancel $577 million in grants for $237 million in savings, of hard earned tax payer money, going to programs in other countries. MAGA FIRST”
President Trump passionately highlighted DOGE’s findings in his powerful State of the Union address on March 4, 2025, emphasizing the absurdity of taxpayer dollars funding bizarre and ineffective programs abroad. In the speech, he commented, “$22 billion from HHS to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens. $45 million for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion scholarships in Burma. $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants.”
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President Trump pointed to other questionable spending DOGE has found, further illustrating the magnitude of federal waste and spotlighting the urgency of DOGE’s mission to restore fiscal sanity. He said, “$8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, and $8 million for making mice transgender.” Watch him do so here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video